fresh herbs and green onions? rinse then wrap in paper towel (slight moisture ok), then wrap in plastic. I keep them in the butter thing. Alternatively, storing green onions like they're in a vase with water keeps them well.

Hmm. I usually buy tomatoes that are still on the stem, and they do just fine in the fridge. Maybe it helps that I have them in a plastic bag from the grocery store. It's only when I slice one up and leave the leftover part in a container the fridge that it starts to get mealy at the surface.

This is...interesting. Banana bread still turns out great, but the best banana bread uses old, brown/soft bananas. i don't know that I'd want it more banana-y, and I farking love me some banana bread. I make a loaf or two a week. It's generally my 'sweet'.

mr0x:Emposter: That's a short list, but I appear to be doing it right.

Also, I'm a 12th level master of the school of "eating it before it goes bad."

Sadly, the fruit and veggies store is 10 miles away from me and I can only go there once a week.

The closer ones gouge prices on fruits and veggies and they have to be "on sale" to even be reasonable. The prices are x3-x4 the price when not on sale.

So, I have loads of stuff I have to store every week. Something always goes bad because I forget it in the back.

I live about a mile away from an H-Mart. I have no idea what those crazy asians do to their vegetables, but they are gigantic and cheap as all get out. Green onions at Safeway are maybe a centimeter in diameter if you get good ones...H-Mart green onions are the size of leeks. We're talking inch thick green onions. It's awesome. Bell peppers that are at least half again as big as the ones I can get at Safeway or Costco. And they sell snow peas for 99 cents/pound. I regularly go and just throw 2 pounds in a bag and munch on them all week. Sure, I probably have lead and/or melamine poisoning, but hey, no one lives forever and I love snow peas.

The only thing I have trouble eating in time is herbs...primarily cilantro. That stuff just seems to go bad in virtually seconds. Thankfully it's damned cheap.

Emposter:I live about a mile away from an H-Mart. I have no idea what those crazy asians do to their vegetables, but they are gigantic and cheap as all get out. Green onions at Safeway are maybe a centimeter in diameter if you get good ones...H-Mart green onions are the size of leeks.

robohobo:Moonfisher: rcf1105: I've put bananas in the fridge before. The color gets a little funky but I swear they stay fresh longer.

Same. And they taste better cold, especially sliced up in yogurt.

I swear bananas tasted better when I was a kid. It could be chalked up to being 30 year old memories, but I think I'd put money on them having been tastier.

It might be because the bananas being sold today are a different strain than the ones sold in the 50s. Panama disease wiped out the popular Gros Michel bananas, and today, the Cavendish bananas are the main ones you see at the grocery store.

some_beer_drinker:Emposter: I live about a mile away from an H-Mart. I have no idea what those crazy asians do to their vegetables, but they are gigantic and cheap as all get out. Green onions at Safeway are maybe a centimeter in diameter if you get good ones...H-Mart green onions are the size of leeks.

Emposter:The only thing I have trouble eating in time is herbs...primarily cilantro. That stuff just seems to go bad in virtually seconds.

A trick I use that works great is to put things in a tupperware container. Maybe add a sprinkle of water. Celery will last weeks without wilting. Works for zucchini and bell peppers, too. They are neither dried out or slimy.

And, most importantly, works for cilantro. The stuff at the very bottom will wilt and slime out, but everything else will be good for quite a long time.

robohobo:Moonfisher: rcf1105: I've put bananas in the fridge before. The color gets a little funky but I swear they stay fresh longer.

Same. And they taste better cold, especially sliced up in yogurt.

I swear bananas tasted better when I was a kid. It could be chalked up to being 30 year old memories, but I think I'd put money on them having been tastier.

I can second that they tasted better then. I did have one that had that taste a few years ago, but it wasn't one of the big perfect looking yellow ones we get now.

Bananas give off a lot of gas that accelerates the spoiling process. Keep them away from other fruit. They spoil each other, too. Keep them in a bunch until they get to the ripeness you like, then pull them apart a little or put a paper towel between them to slow the ripening process down. They tell you to keep some foods out of the fridge to keep your other foods fresh longer. Apples for instance; if you pick them while wearing gloves, don't let them touch each other or get bruised - they can last a couple years when stored properly. An apple barrel is basically a container where you layer apples and sawdust. They are separated, ventilated, yet still are kept at a somewhat constant humidity.

This country was build on apples; a food they could store for long periods of time with no refrigeration.

Thanks to modern corporate science everything is starting to have the same bland taste with varying texture.

Zombalupagus:Emposter: The only thing I have trouble eating in time is herbs...primarily cilantro. That stuff just seems to go bad in virtually seconds.

A trick I use that works great is to put things in a tupperware container. Maybe add a sprinkle of water. Celery will last weeks without wilting. Works for zucchini and bell peppers, too. They are neither dried out or slimy.

And, most importantly, works for cilantro. The stuff at the very bottom will wilt and slime out, but everything else will be good for quite a long time.

/Now I just need a way to keep mushrooms and I'll be good to go.

We used to have a mushroom plant in town years ago. An old guy down the road scored some free soil they were cleaning out, thinking it would be great for the garden - worked ok, but he had mushrooms everywhere. He made three shallow 4x8 plywood boxes with lids and filled them with throw away soil from three different buildings from the mushroom plant. Different types of mushrooms in each box. Best way to store mushrooms? In the dark, fresh, covered in shiat.

HotWingAgenda:I'm guessing they'll cover fresh leafy items like lettuce, cilantro and basil in a different installment. Those are the tricky ones.

Cilantro does excellent when you trim the stems and put it in a glass or vase of water. It actually looks better than when you purchase it. I haven't had the same luck with basil yet and haven't tried lettuce.

Emposter:mr0x: Emposter: That's a short list, but I appear to be doing it right.

Also, I'm a 12th level master of the school of "eating it before it goes bad."

Sadly, the fruit and veggies store is 10 miles away from me and I can only go there once a week.

The closer ones gouge prices on fruits and veggies and they have to be "on sale" to even be reasonable. The prices are x3-x4 the price when not on sale.

So, I have loads of stuff I have to store every week. Something always goes bad because I forget it in the back.

I live about a mile away from an H-Mart. I have no idea what those crazy asians do to their vegetables, but they are gigantic and cheap as all get out. Green onions at Safeway are maybe a centimeter in diameter if you get good ones...H-Mart green onions are the size of leeks. We're talking inch thick green onions. It's awesome. Bell peppers that are at least half again as big as the ones I can get at Safeway or Costco. And they sell snow peas for 99 cents/pound. I regularly go and just throw 2 pounds in a bag and munch on them all week. Sure, I probably have lead and/or melamine poisoning, but hey, no one lives forever and I love snow peas.

The only thing I have trouble eating in time is herbs...primarily cilantro. That stuff just seems to go bad in virtually seconds. Thankfully it's damned cheap.

I want to say our Hmart labels the produce with where it's from. In summer, 80% or more is from in state, most of the rest is from one state over, and the rest is California or other countries. Right now California is the biggest label.

rcf1105:I've put bananas in the fridge before. The color gets a little funky but I swear they stay fresh longer.

I keep them out until they are ripe, with brown spots on the peel. Then you put them in the fridge, which slows down the further ripening. The skins turn brown, but they won't quickly over ripen. So, TFA saying to not put bananas in the fridge is incorrect.

Zombalupagus:Emposter: The only thing I have trouble eating in time is herbs...primarily cilantro. That stuff just seems to go bad in virtually seconds.

A trick I use that works great is to put things in a tupperware container. Maybe add a sprinkle of water. Celery will last weeks without wilting. Works for zucchini and bell peppers, too. They are neither dried out or slimy.

And, most importantly, works for cilantro. The stuff at the very bottom will wilt and slime out, but everything else will be good for quite a long time.

/Now I just need a way to keep mushrooms and I'll be good to go.

Take the shrooms out of the plastic container and put them in a brown paper lunch bag. Seal it up and put in fridge.They will last a little longer.